Daniel Penny, the 26-year-old Marine veteran turned architecture student on trial for the strangulation that killed 30-year-old Jordan Neely on a subway train last year, will soon testify in his own defense at trial. The news paper reported that this is highly likely. York City defense attorney who handled a similar case.
Staten Island defense attorney Luis Gerolmino told FOX News Digital that jurors wanted to know why the defendant did not testify after the fact, even though the judge told them not to. He said he often hears this.
Mr. Gerolmino is unrelated to Mr. Penny's case, but he has been closely monitoring it and has tried two cases before the same judge, out of about 100 he has defended so far.
As such, he believes the traditional practice of keeping defendants off the witness stand is generally a bad choice. But in cases like Penny's, his thought process can be important in justifying his actions, so it's not up for debate.
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Danielle Penny arrives at Manhattan Supreme Court on Tuesday, November 19, 2024, with her mother, Gina Maria Frame-Penny. Penny, a retired Marine, is charged with second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in the 2023 death of Jordan Neely. New York City subway train. (Rashid Umar Abbasi, Fox News Digital)
“In Penny's case, I think he has to take a stand,” Gerormino said. “Because when you have an affirmative defense like a justification, it's just what's going on in Penny's mind. And you can't say what was going on in Penny's mind at the time of the incident.” That’s it.”
Penny is charged with manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in Neely's death.
Neely was a homeless drug abuser who suffered from schizophrenia and had a criminal history, including assaulting an elderly woman. Witnesses said he entered a Manhattan subway car in May 2023 and began shouting threats.
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“He said, 'I don't care if I have to kill F, I'll kill him. I'll go to jail and get a bullet,'” one witness told Fox News Digital last year.
Jordan Neely is pictured outside the Regal Cinemas on 8th Avenue and 42nd Street in New York's Times Square in 2009 before going to see the Michael Jackson movie “This Is It.” (Andrew Sabrich/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
He said lawyers for both sides painted a picture for the jury of what happened on the subway car. Prosecutors are trying to convince them that Penny was reckless or negligent in overreaching in causing Neely's death. The defense is trying to convince him that his actions were justified and reasonable.
“Self-defense is when you say, 'Oh, I did the act that allegedly happened…but because of X, Y, and Z the act was justified, so it's not a crime.' used in the incident,” Gerormino told FOX News Digital.
He noted that witnesses called to the stand by prosecutors have already said they are scared, believe they are in danger and fear for their children.
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Screenshot of bystander video showing Jordan Neely being strangled on the New York City subway. (Luces de Nueva York/Juan Alberto Vazquez, via Storyful)
“I think if Perry gets up on stage and says, ‘Well, I thought everyone was in danger,’ that’s ultimately where the defense wants to go,” Gerormino said.
Last year, he was accused of strangling two customers in self-defense, and the man who died was accused of attempting to rob and possessing a gun. They were not charged in the Staten Island case, which was supervised by another prosecutor.
However, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office indicted Penny 11 days after Neely's death in May 2023.
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Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg speaks with his staff during a press conference on May 30, 2024 in New York City. (Spencer Pratt/Getty Images)
Neely is described as a homeless, chronic drug abuser with a record of severe mental illness and criminal behavior, and a hungry, thirsty former Michael Jackson impersonator. Police did not find a weapon after his rant, but they did find a muffin in his pocket.
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Penny's trial resumes Thursday.
If convicted of the top charge of manslaughter, he could be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison.
With the defense expected to adjourn the case by Thanksgiving, it won't be long before we know whether he will take a stand.
